New Pineville girls’ coach Matt Shafer huddles with the team before the start of the second quarter of Monday’s game at North Laurel.
Pineville senior guard Chelsea Smith draws a foul as she goes to her left hand to put up a shot in the lane over North Laurel’s Ashley Woolum. Dealing with a sprained ankle and foul problems, Smith was held to nine points in Monday’s 64-37 loss to the Lady Jaguars.
Pineville junior guard Rebekah Brooks releases a 3-pointer during the second quarter of Monday’s game. The basket brought the Lady Lions within 21-17, but North scored the final ten points of the half and pulled away to a 64-37 win.
The Lady Lions will be gunning for a third straight 51st District championship as well as a repeat as 13th Region All ‘A’ champions.
“The All ‘A’ and the district are our two main goals,” Shafer said. “We want that three-peat, which I don’t think has happened at Pineville.”
Shafer takes over for Russell Thompson who has moved on to become the head coach of the Middlesboro boys. He’s been the defensive coordinator of the Pineville football team for the past several seasons.
“A lot of things are the exact same. Flying around, having fun,” he said. “Coaching is coaching. It’s motivating kids and I guess the school system thought I could do that well.
“These girls bust their tails and that’s all I ask of them.”
Pineville opened their season Monday with a 64-37 loss at North Laurel.
The Lady Lions came in at a bit of a disadvantage as star guard Chelsea Smith was dealing with a sprained ankle.
Smith returns after scoring 30 points a game last year to lead the state.
Pineville’s pressing defense was slowed early on by five fouls in the first 2:30 of the game — including two on Smith.
North Laurel took advantage of their superior size and got six first quarter points from center Cheyenne Madden to build a 13-8 lead after one quarter.
Madden finished with 17 points to lead all scorers on Monday.
Pineville got a 3-pointer and a free throw from Smith in the second quarter. Then two free throws from Stephanie Epperson.
A 3-pointer off the bench from Rebekah Brooks brought the Lady Lions to within 21-17 with 3:20 to play in the first half.
But with the double bonus in effect the Lady Jaguars hit 9-of-12 free throws in the second quarter. Samantha Proffitt went 4-for-4 from the line, Kelsie Smith added a 3-pointer and North scored the final ten points of the half to take a commanding 31-17 lead into the break.
Tamara Crawford scored nine of her 16 points in the third quarter for North Laurel as they continued to pull away.
Pineville was led by Kristen Brock’s 12 points while Smith finished with nine and Brooks six.
The Lady Lions won’t play again until Dec. 9 when they host Harlan County. By then the team should be fully healthy and we’ll have better idea of what the 2010-11 season has in store.
Speaking before the game, Shafer said Pineville will play with much the same style that led to their success last year.
“We’ve got the number one scorer in the state from last year in Chelsea. People are going to be keying on her and some other girls are going to have to step up,” he said. “Overall they’re still in the same roles and I think that experience playing together is our strength.
“We’ll probably pump up the tempo a little more even than last year. We’ve got to take advantage of our athleticism because we’re not a very tall team/ We want to use our speed and quickness to get up and down the floor.”
— — —
Pineville 8 9 7 13 — 37
North Laurel 13 18 20 13 — 64
Pineville (37): Kristen Brock 12, Smith 9, Rebekah Brooks 6, Whitney Partin 3, Victoria Knuckles 2, Stephanie Epperson 2, Stacey Washington 2, Annalee Adams 1, Lacey Brooks 0.
North Laurel (64) – Cheyenne Madden 17, Tamara Crawford 16, Kelsie Smith 13, Samantha Profitt 9, Ashley Woolum 4, Chestnut 2, Jessica Boggs 2, Megan Bryant 1, Rachel Wright 0.
Post a Comment
